This delicious matar paneer (no onion garlic) is an under 30 minutes recipe and makes use of simple Indian spices. It is also a easy and quick recipe that you can also make when you have guests over.
There are a lot of recipes in the Bengali cuisine that are made without onions or garlic. And they are called “nir-amish” recipes. Aamish recipes are the ones that have onion, garlic and niramish, the ones without. In fact, a lot of our vegetarian fares are mostly niramish. For example, the aloo posto, dum aloo, dhokar dalna, shukto etc. And all of them are extremely yummy. Now, those of you who are used to the flavour of onions and garlic in your foods, especially Indian, you must be wondering how would these niramish recipes taste! Your wonderment is probably only natural as, garlic imparts a lovely fragrance and onions a delicious sweetness to our food. But all that gets compensated by the spices that are used in these recipes. So, on that note here is my very delectable, matar paneer without onion, garlic recipe for you.
This paneer and green peas delicacy is a Punjabi recipe, that usually has both onions and garlic in it. So why have I tweaked it to make mine without, you ask? The reason is, my thakurma or paternal grandmother, has given up eating onions and garlic long back. Hence, whenever I am making matar paneer at home for my folks, the one for her has to be niramish. And so, on my last trip to Mumbai, I discovered a newer and a more delicious method to make it for her. And, hence, I thought I will also document here on the blog. This matar paneer (no onion, garlic) is a tomato based recipe cooked with love, flavoured with kasuri methi and topped with cashews. While the cashews are optional, it just makes the dish a tad more special. 🙂
Quick and easy
Since my recipe is devoid of any onions, a lot of time is saved, by design itself. By that I mean, onions generally take some time to cook completely, and here that will not be a concern. This quick an easy matar paneer (no onion, garlic) has asafoetida or hing which compensates for the absence of garlic. And the sweetness of the onions is offset with the addition of sugar. Bengali foods generally have sugar as one of its key components. But don’t worry, this doesn’t make this paneer curry sweet. A tablespoon or so of the sugar, simply balances out the acidity of the tomatoes. Thus, creating a harmony of flavours in this Indian vegetarian recipe. I have kept the subzi dry. However, if you’d like more of a curry then you will simply need to add more water, while cooking, than I did.
This matar paneer is an under 30 minutes recipe and makes use of simple Indian spices. Even though easy and quick, this is a recipe that you can make for a dinner party. It is not only the vegetarians who will love it, but even the meat lovers will keep coming back for more!
Serving suggestions
This matar paneer pairs very well with both flatbreads and rice. I, especially, love having it with parathas and some Bengali fried rice. However this tastes fantastic with pooris and pulao, as well. I hope you give this niramish paneer recipe a try soon. And if you do share your feedback and pictures with me, I’d love to see them. You could share your food pictures with me on Instagram, too.
You could also take a look at my matar paneer recipe that I make using onions and garlic here.
Eat hearty!
Matar paneer (no onion garlic)
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot
Ingredients
- 250 g paneer cut in cubes
- 1 cup peas frozen or fresh
- ¼ cup cashews soaked in water for 15 minutes
- 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin seed powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp ginger grated
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2-3 cloves
- 2-3 cardamoms
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 dried red chilis
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp hing asafoetida
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp kasuri methi toasted
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves
- 2 tbsp oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil and the ghee together. When the ghee melts, add all the whole spices
- Once they turn fragrant, add the hing and mix well
- Make a paste of the grated ginger, turmeric powder, cumin seed powder, coriander powder, red chili powder along with 4 tablespoons of water
- Add this to the cooking pot, over medium flame. Stir and cook until the oil separates
- Then add the chopped tomatoes, sugar and salt. Mix and cook until the tomatoes turn mushy
- When the tomatoes are well cooked add the peas, cashews and 1 cup hot water. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes more and then add the diced paneer, mix gently and cook covered for another 5 minutes
- Switch the flame off and sprinkle the garam masala, kasuri methi and coriander leaves. Keep covered for 5 minutes and mix well, before serving
- Serve the delicious matar paneer (no onion, garlic) with your choice of rice and/or flatbreads. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can also shallow fry the paneer pieces before adding it to the curry
- Increase the amount of water to be added if you want more of a curry
- The sugar will help balance the acidity of the tomatoes
- tbsp - tablespoon
- tsp - teaspoon
